


Birthdays

by marvelaosdc1620



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Birthday Fluff, Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:07:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28745928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marvelaosdc1620/pseuds/marvelaosdc1620
Summary: Various one shots of the birthdays of everyone’s favorite SHIELD agents.
Relationships: Bobbi Morse & Jemma Simmons, Bobbi Morse & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Jemma Simmons & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Lance Hunter & Bobbi Morse, Lance Hunter & Melinda May, Leo Fitz & Bobbi Morse, Leo Fitz & Jemma Simmons, Leo Fitz & Lance Hunter, Melinda May & Bobbi Morse, Melinda May & Jemma Simmons, Melinda May & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Phil Coulson & Jemma Simmons, Phil Coulson & Leo Fitz, Phil Coulson & Melinda May, Phil Coulson & Skye | Daisy Johnson
Comments: 16
Kudos: 40





	1. May

May had never really disliked her birthday. When she was little, her parents had always gotten her a cake and made her baozi and scallion pancakes for dinner. She and her mom had bonded over the food and always had fun making it together. Even with the unpredictable life of an agent, her mother had never missed her birthday.

It was always a fun day of family bonding, but May knew that birthdays were really just like any other day. The older she grew, the less she felt like celebrating. She didn’t see the point. Eventually, she moved away from home and started spending her birthdays at SHIELD, working. The day was just like any other and she never made a big deal, and neither did anyone else around her. Coulson always remembered, giving her a cupcake and offering to go for a drink. But May didn’t think birthdays were all they were cracked up to be. They were not as big a deal as everyone always said.

But on Coulson’s team, the group was more of a family than any of them would care to admit, especially May. So when Fitz found out May’s birthday was only a week away, he felt awful.

“Jemma!” Fitz burst into the lab, out of breath.

She looked up expectantly from the microscope, giving him a funny look. Bobbi leaned casually against a table, knowing she was in for a show.

“May’s birthday is next Friday and we haven’t yet planned anything.”

Oh. Well, that certainly wasn’t what Jemma or Bobbi had expected to hear.

“Next Friday? Well, we must get planning then.”

Fitz and Jemma took the rest of the day off from lab work. None of their tasks were time sensitive or urgent anyway. Bobbi said she would finish up and then join them.

They were on their way to Jemma’s room when they passed Daisy in the hallway. They exchanged a glance, silently deciding whether to pull in Daisy to their plan or not. 

“Hey Fitzsimmons, what’s up? You look like you’re scheming,” she prodded.

Well, that answered their question. They pulled her into Jemma’s room.

“WHAT? Next Friday? Well, what are we gonna do?”

Fitzsimmons smiled at her reaction.

“We’re gonna start planning now. Join us,” Fitz said.

“Has she told you of any childhood traditions?” Jemma asked.

The three of them spent the next hour searching the web for Chinese birthday traditions and talking about May. The more they talked, the more they realized how little they knew about her.

————————————————————————

“How can we possibly spend so much time with someone but know so little about them?” Daisy asked with a huge sigh, flinging herself dramatically down on Jemma’s bed. 

“Well, the woman is practically a closed book. Locked up all tight, complete with a nonexistent key,” Hunter said, taking a sip of his beer. He and Bobbi were also in Jemma’s room now, wanting in on the festivities. Jemma had pointed out that all five of them missing from the base would be suspicious, but no one seemed to care.

“Well, we know her mom used to work for SHIELD,” Bobbi said. “Do you think it would be inappropriate to contact her?”

They all took a second to muse Bobbi’s idea.

“No, not at all,” Fitz said. “In fact, I believe that is a wonderful idea.”

“AC has to know about her birthday, right? I mean, he’s like her best friend. Maybe he knows how to contact her mom.”

They agreed that Daisy’s idea was probably the best they would come up with, so she “slyly” got him to come into Jemma’s bunk.

About five minutes later, Daisy came back in with Coulson trailing behind her. His face was red from exertion, looking panicked. He looked wildly around the room, taking in everyone’s confused looks.

“What’s the emergency?” He asked. He turned to Daisy. “You said there was an emergency.”

“There is an emergency, AC! May’s birthday is coming up and we don’t know what to do!”

He gave Daisy an exasperated look. “That’s the emergency?”

“Well, sir, it is not an emergency, but while you’re here, we would love to pick your brain,” Jemma said.

“We were wondering if you know anything about what May has done in the past for her birthdays. And if not, we were wondering if you have contact information for her mother,” Fitz continued.

“Because she works for SHIELD,” Jemma added.

“And because she’s basically your BFF,” Daisy finished.

Coulson had calmed significantly as he took in everyone’s statements. As silence took over the room, Coulson looked around thoughtfully.

“I do happen to have her mom’s phone number. I think they used to cook a traditional dinner together, but I couldn’t tell you what it was.”

————————————————————————

It was decided that Bobbi would be the one to call May’s mom. She was the best at keeping secrets and, being fluent in Mandarin, was the most likely to know the spellings and names of the foods.

Daisy made it her goal to casually figure out what kind of cake May liked during their training session that day. It was, in reality, not casual in the slightest. They were trying to keep their plans for May’s birthday a surprise, but it’s not like she didn’t know they were up to something. She was a super spy, after all.

Jemma and Fitz scoured the internet for the perfect cake recipes. Baking was Jemma’s favorite form of cooking. It was an exact science, based upon the principles of chemistry and rooted in science.

(Hunter wasn’t very helpful in the planning, but at least he was good at acting like everything was happening.)

They reconvened in Jemma’s room that evening, sharing their intel.

“She likes white cake, I think,” Daisy said. “I didn’t get very far. Nothing too sweet, that’s for sure. She wanted to know why I was talking about cake so much.” Bobbi snorted.

“Her mom said she used to make two dishes with May when she was little. They used to cook together. I have the names written down. They look pretty complex, but I think we can pull it off,” Bobbi said.

“Make her a matcha cake,” Hunter said out of the blue. Everyone gave him a look as he took a slow sip of his beer. “You lot don’t give me enough credit, ya know. I pay attention.”

There was a moment of silence as everyone stared at Hunter. He sighed loudly.

“Look, she loves tea. And that one time Coulson got us cupcakes after that mission in Lebanon, she chose a matcha cupcake with meringue frosting.”

Bobbi smirked at him lovingly. “Who knew you were spy material, Lance. Didn’t know you had it in you.”

Everyone was stunned but impressed at Hunter’s keen observation. None of them had thought he had wanted to play any part in May’s birthday surprise, much less had been paying attention. But, thankfully, he had been. They all knew their assignments when they left Jemma’s room that night. It was already Wednesday. They had to get going.

————————————————————————

Fitzsimmons threw out all the American cake recipes they had found and switched tracks to a matcha one. They knew they had some matcha on the base somewhere and could always make a run to the grocery store if need be. Jemma, out of everyone on the team, loved the normalcy of running errands, so it wouldn’t be suspicious for her to leave for a grocery run. It also wasn’t suspicious for the pair to be up late at night or very early in the morning, so they could confidently make their cake in the cover of darkness.

Daisy wanted to be in charge of decorations. She went through the base’s supply closets and pulled out all the balloons, streamers, and candles she could find. Everything was brightly colored, with neon pinks, fuchsias, yellows, and purples. It was everything May stood against when picking decorations. Daisy loved it. It was perfect. She hid the arm loads of decorations in her room, running through the hallways, hoping that she didn’t see May. Thankfully, she only passed a few agents, who just threw her confused looks as she sprinted through the hallways, streamers billowing out of the cardboard boxes she was carrying.

Coulson’s only job was to keep May distracted while everyone else prepared. He wasn’t doing a very good job, but May was a naturally curious person. He couldn’t keep giving her tasks forever, or she would get really suspicious. More so than she already was.

Bobbi and Hunter were making the dinner food. Or, rather, Bobbi had volunteered to make it and had dragged Hunter down with her. He had no idea how to pronounce the foods but was a better cook than he let on. Bobbi knew that, even if he didn’t want to admit it. Even with all the grumbling he did, she knew that he did care about May and would (hopefully) at least try to make some of the foods. Really, the baozi just seemed like dumplings. But the recipe made it seem so much harder. They hoped the scallion pancakes wouldn’t be as challenging, but Bobbi had a bad feeling. May’s mom hadn’t exactly made them sound easy.

————————————————————————

“Do you need anything at the store, May?” Jemma asked innocently, poking her head around the doorframe to the gym.

May narrowed her eyes at Jemma. “No, I do not, thanks for asking. Any reason in particular you’re running out?” She crossed her arms and looked expectantly at Jemma.

Bobbi and Daisy had prepared her for this. They all knew she couldn’t lie, so they had helped her come up with multiple answers for this exact scenario. Make it seem natural.

“Oh, well, you know, some paper towels, eggs, tissues, the regular,” she said. She hoped May couldn’t push any farther. She was pretty sure she was exuding anxiety.

Thankfully, May took pity on her and let her go without any further questions. Daisy high fived her at the successful play off. Jemma and Daisy both went to the store, where they did indeed get paper towels, eggs, and tissues, but also scallions, milk, and at Daisy’s insistence, party hats. Jemma said May would hate them. Daisy grinned and nodded. They got a 10 pack.

They rushed the bags inside when they got back from the base. May leaned against the doorway to the kitchen. Coulson was with her, trying to pull her away, but she refused. May raised an eyebrow at Jemma as she came in with yet another bag.

“That looks like a lot more than just eggs and paper products, Simmons,” May teased with a smirk. Jemma went beet red and shot Daisy a panicked look. She hadn’t been prepared for this. Daisy smacked her forehead with her palm. May just chuckled and left the room. They were all pretty sure that May knew something was up. At least she was being nice about it.

————————————————————————

May went to bed uncharacteristically early that night. She has obviously caught on, but no one cared. They were too stressed about nailing this party.

Coulson helped Daisy set up decorations in the kitchen. He was going to make French toast for breakfast for everyone.

Bobbi and Hunter were up first, doing their best to make the pancakes and dumplings. The dumpling dough didn’t seem quite right. They were pretty sure it was thicker than it should have been and they definitely overcooked it. Were dumplings supposed to be hard balls? Oh well. It was too late to go back now.

The pancakes went slightly better. Bobbi chopped the scallions and Hunter cooked the batter they had put together. He cooked them like any other pancake, flipping them when there were bubbles on top. Was it right? Who knew.

Meanwhile, Fitzsimmons were measuring out their ingredients. The flour, sugar, baking powder, and matcha powder were sifted together before being added to the wet ingredients. They put the cake in the oven and began on the frosting.

Bobbi and Hunter stared at their work as Fitzsimmons put together the frosting. Daisy giggled at their expressions. The baozi were obviously burnt and so were the scallion pancakes.

“‘Maybe they taste better than they look?” Jemma suggested, looking up from the mixing bowl.

Hunter took a bite and made a face. He shook his head.

“Come on, they can’t be that bad,” Bobbi pushed. She cut open one of the baozi and took a bite. She chewed slowly.

“I guess the filling is okay, if you can see past the outside. And the pancakes... aren’t that bad.” Fitz grimaced. 

“I’m sure she’ll appreciate the thought and effort,” Jemma assured her.

The cake, of course, looked perfect when it came out of the oven. Bobbi, Hunter, Coulson, and Daisy sat around the table as they watched Fitzsimmons work. The cake needed to cool, so Fitzsimmons was planning to get up very early the next day to frost it.

“I’ve never seen a cake look so much like the picture,” Coulson commented. “How did you guys do that?”

Jemma smiled at his comment. “Baking is a science, sir. I like to think we’re quite good at it.” She exchanged an affectionate glance with Fitz. They both knew what he had wanted to say. Science, biatch.

After everything was put away, they all headed off to bed. Fitzsimmons got up five hours later to frost the cake. May was already up doing tai chi. If she knew they were up, she didn’t comment on it.

Coulson was in the kitchen making French toast by the time May had showered and came into the kitchen for tea. She was beyond surprised at the sight. There was a beautiful cake sitting on the table that looked like it may have been bought. Maybe Daisy and  
Jemma got that too, she thought to herself as she slowly walked in. Bobbi and Hunter were both nursing beers. (It was 6:30am.) Daisy was grinning from ear to ear and staring at May. Jemma was boiling water for tea for herself, Fitz, and May as Fitz pulled out mugs.

Coulson turned to look at her and she held back a laugh at his stupid apron. Kiss me, I’m Captain America. It had been a gag birthday gift that no one had ever hoped would get this much use. He gave her a smile.

“Happy birthday, Melinda.”

She scowled a bit looking around at the goofy, bright decorations.

“Do you like them?” Daisy asked. May gave her a look. Daisy’s grin got even wider. “You hate it. Come on May, it’s your birthday! Go wild for once!”

May shook her head at Daisy’s antics as Jemma handed her a mug of tea.

————————————————————————

The day passed quite quickly and soon it was time for dinner. May couldn’t wait to see what they had come up with, not that she’d ever tell.

She was beyond surprised to see Bobbi putting out what looked like burnt dumplings and pancakes on the table. Hunter was heating up more from a sheet in the oven. May furrowed her eyebrows as she sat down, sliding in next to Fitz.

“Sorry May, we tried to make your mom’s foods. Baozi and scallion pancakes.”

May felt her stomach twist. They had called her mom. Instead of anger, she felt affection. They cared so much that they had reached out to her mom for birthday ideas and recipes.

Bobbi looked to May anxiously as she bit into her baozi. “How bad are they?”

May chewed slowly. They were badly burnt, even the pork on the inside. There was nowhere near enough spice on the inside and she was pretty sure they had put in chili powder instead of paprika. They tasted nothing like her mom’s.

May smiled at Bobbi. “They’re delicious.”

————————————————————————

Dessert time finally came around after they had cleaned up from dinner. May went to get a sweatshirt and when she came back in, she groaned. Oh god.

Everyone was wearing those stupid little party hats. Bobbi gave her a sympathetic look while Hunter looked unaffected. At least he owned it.

Coulson dimmed the lights as Jemma carried the cake over to the table. May made eye contact with Daisy and knew she was the one to thank for these terrible party hats.

Daisy held out one for May.

“No.”

“Oh come on May! It’ll be fun!”

“No.”

Daisy frowned.

“Keep it on til the end of the song?” Daisy looked desperate.

May sighed deeply and snapped the stupid thing on her head. Coulson grinned and Fitz pulled out his phone for a video.

They group sung happy birthday as Jemma put the cake down in front of May. The second she blew out the candles, she whipped the hat off her head. She then cut up the cake. Matcha. She wondered who remembered. She was touched.

“So did you get this at the store too?” May asked as she took another bite. “It’s great.”

Jemma and Fitz exchanged a look. Daisy grinned.

“Nope. The science kids made it. They said baking is basically chemistry or whatever.” Daisy said proudly.

May shot them a surprised look. “You two made this?”

They both nodded sheepishly, Fitz not looking up and Jemma’s cheeks burning red.

May shook her head. “It’s amazing. Thanks you two. You should bake more often. And give me this recipe.”

May took a moment to look around the table. “Thank you, all of you. This has been a really nice day.” She wondered if she should keep going. She had already said a lot. It felt weird. “The best birthday I’ve had in a long time. I appreciate all the work you guys put in. I’m glad you’re all here.”

They all smiled at May, who smiled, really smiled, back. 

“Group hug!” Daisy yelled, hopping onto May and wrapping her arms tightly around her.

Much more cautiously, everyone else joined the hug. May made eye contact with Coulson and frowned. He just shrugged noncommittally. 

“Sorry May. I don’t make the rules.”

Then he grinned and joined the hug too.

May would never admit it, but the group hug was just what she needed. It was the best gift any of the could have given her, even though later on she did open presents from them. A new water bottle, some leggings, a book about female pilots and their role during World War II. She loved all her gifts, but nothing could compare to the amount of effort had put into making sure she had a great day.

That was the first night in a very long time that May went to bed fully content and happy. She had had a wonderful day spent with people who care about her. The cake was delicious and definitely made up for the burnt, but extremely thoughtful, dinner. She smiled as she closed her eyes. She was so lucky to be on this team and have met all these wonderful people.


	2. Coulson

Coulson had always had fun birthdays as a kid with his parents before they died. Every year, they spend the day at a zoo, museum, or some other fun place. Coulson valued the time spent as just the three of them. They would order takeout from his favorite diner and make a cake for dessert. He really had nothing but good memories for his childhood birthdays, up until his father died. Birthdays were more lonely after that. He missed spending the day doing fun things with his favorite people.

During his time at SHIELD, a few people had remembered his birthday. Sometimes, people brought him a cupcake or a coffee, and May always offered to go out for a celebratory drink after work. Coulson didn’t know if his birthdays really counted, considering he had been dead for a few days. But he didn’t like complicated, so he stuck with the simplicity of birthdays.

————————————————————————

Daisy found out it was almost Coulson’s birthday by accident. She had been looking through his computer for a file when a reminder popped up on his calendar. Happy birthday. It took Daisy a minute to realize Coulson had put in the reminder for his own birthday. Her heart leapt at the idea of throwing Coulson a party like they had for May. She knew his parents had died when he was a teenager and he probably had spent a lot of years celebrating alone. She was going to make sure that changed this year.

Daisy marched into the kitchen where most of the team was having lunch. Jemma and Fitz were eating sandwiches while Bobbi and Hunter were having salads.

“AC’s birthday is coming up guys, and we’re going to make it awesome,” she announced to the group. They all contemplated for a minute, thinking.

“What day?” Bobbi asked.

“His calendar says Tuesday. We have four days to prepare,” Daisy answered. Bobbi nodded slowly.

“I’ll bet May knows what he does, or did, on his birthday,” Fitz piped in. “If he’s going to confide in anyone, it’s probably her.” He pauses for a moment, looking at Daisy. “Unless he’s confided in you?”

She bit her lip, thinking. “He used to spend the day with his parents. That’s about all I know. Oh, and they’d go to this diner near their house.”

“Well, diner food is my specialty,” Hunter said. “Grease and fat I can do. Better than Chinese food.”

Daisy grinned. The day was coming together already. She was beyond excited to pick out decorations for Coulson’s birthday. They had used up practically all of the base’s party supplies for May’s birthday. They could reuse a lot of it, but she wanted better than that for Coulson. He deserved a bright, shiny new day with bright, shiny new stuff.

“He grew up in Minnesota, so yellow cake with chocolate icing will probably do,” Jemma mused. “Maybe a fruit filling?”

Bobbi nodded in agreement. “I’ll talk to May,” she said. It would be easier to talk to May about Coulson than talk to May about May. That was for sure.

————————————————————————

May knew far more about Coulson’s birthdays than any of them could have hoped.

“He likes that crappy diner food. Cheeseburger and fries. His dad would make him cake for dessert. At the diner, he would get a slice of banana cream pie after dinner, too.” She pauses for a moment to think. “He would love anything any of you would do for him. He’s not picky.”

They could all agree with that. Coulson always took what he could get and was very grateful. The six of them convened in May’s bunk and made a list for the grocery store for Coulson’s birthday.

“Ground beef, egg, hamburger, muffins,” Hunter listed. “Is he a cheddar or Swiss kind of bloke?” He asked May. For a British guy, Hunter sure knew a lot about American burgers.

The list was about half a page long by the time the group had finished. Of course, there were the ingredients for burgers, but then the ones for homemade thick cut steak fries. And all the ingredients needed for a cake. They were going to get fresh bananas and Jemma was going to put them in the middle layer. Daisy went crazy writing down every type of party supplies she could think of: balloons, confetti, streamers, balloon weights. How much of that they would be able to find at the grocery store, they had no idea. She was just so excited about making Coulson’s birthday special. May rolled her eyes when Daisy wrote party hats. She really didn’t want to deal with those again. But for Coulson (and Daisy), she would do anything.

————————————————————————

May and Jemma were going to go shopping on Sunday. It wasn’t suspicious at all and Coulson’s birthday wasn’t as much of a secret as May’s had been. He knew it was coming up, but the twist was he didn’t know anyone but May knew, too.

“Need anything at the store, sir?” Jemma asked, poking her head into his office.

He gave her a pleasant smile. “I would love some Twizzlers if you’re going out. Someone cleaned out my stash again.”

“Will do, sir.”

If he knew she was going to the store for birthday supplies and groceries, he was kind enough not to say anything. He had never been one to mind surprises, and he certainly wasn’t going to go out of his way to spoil one.

————————————————————————

Coulson and Bobbi had introduced Jemma, Fitz, and Lance to the wide world of American foods pretty early on. French toast, French fries, Swiss cheese, and Irish cream in particular blew Fitzsimmons’ minds. They couldn’t wrap their heads around why Americans would name such foods after other countries when they were so clearly nit from there. No one had the heart to tell Hunter how different American burgers were from English pub burgers, though. She had suffered through plenty of flat, dry English burgers with English muffins for buns before. But he had also had a fat, juicy American burger before with a sesame seed bun. She knew which one he liked better, but he would never betray his home country

May was mostly in charge of the burger ingredients because Jemma didn’t know much about the meal. She had never had it growing up. Her first time trying one had been when Daisy took her out to lunch one day.

The two split up in the store, May having the cart. Jemma scoured the fresh produce aisle and dairy section looking for the freshest ingredients. Yellow cake wasn’t particularly her favorite. It was so, well, American. But if Coulson liked it, she would make it.

She met up with May in the frozen section, with the ingredients for the cake and the frosting. May had gotten the ingredients for burgers and Hunter’s steak fries. They figured they probably had enough spices back at the base to make the meal. And, of course, Jemma had grabbed a family sized pack of Twizzlers, as well as an extra for a gift.

Jemma FaceTimed Daisy to walk through the party section. May smirked at how ridiculous it looked, Jemma holding the phone up to the aisle walls, Daisy yelling to “throw one in” every few seconds. After the three of them agreed they had enough supplies, May and Jemma checked out and made their way back to the base.

————————————————————————

Daisy met them as they drove up to help bring in the bags. Jemma giggled watching Daisy sprint down the hallways, checking around each corner dramatically before dashing off, a wild look in her eyes.

May kept her cool and brought the ingredients to the kitchen. She didn’t see a point in hiding what they had bought. Hunter and Bobbi were planning to make the burgers the day of Coulson’s birthday, not wanting to reheat them. Bobbi insisted that they wouldn’t be as good that way.

Fitzsimmons was going to stay up late to make the cake again and frost it early in the morning. Thankfully for them, Coulson didn’t get up nearly as early as May did, so they would be able to get a few more hours of sleep.

Hunter and Bobbi looked through the groceries and checked that they had everything they needed to make the burgers and fries while Fitzsimmons helped Daisy sort through the party supplies in her bunk. There was quite a lot to go through. Daisy had cracked herself up by instructing May and Jemma to buy Captain America themed paper plates and napkins. The balloons and streamers were red, white, and blue, too. His birthday was only four days after the Fourth of July, so May had been pleased they were on sale. Daisy really hoped that Coulson would appreciate the sentiment. All she really wanted in anything was his approval.

————————————————————————

Monday went by pretty uneventfully. Coulson didn’t comment on the ground beef in the fridge or the sesame seed buns in the cupboard. He had a feeling the team was planning something for his birthday, but reminded himself not to be disappointed if they weren’t. It’s not like he had advertised his birthday was the following day.

The others tried to go about their days as normal. Fitzsimmons and Bobbi worked in the lab. Daisy and May sparred and worked out, with Daisy having a lot of nervous and excited energy to work off. Hunter? Well, who knew what Hunter really did all day around the base. Coulson mostly stayed in his office working on paperwork and clerical assignments. Everyone kept their cool that day, not giving away anything before Coulson headed off to his bunk.

Bobbi and Hunter went down to bed as Fitzsimmons pulled out the ingredients for the cake. May begrudgingly helped Daisy pull out all the decorations and started putting them up in the kitchen. May had bought blueberry muffins for breakfast and put them out on the table. Daisy had been thrilled that they went with her theme. She had wanted to put the plates and napkins out for breakfast, but May convinced her to save them for dinner and dessert, but Daisy insisted she didn’t know if she could wait that long. She was too excited.

By the time all the decorations were set up, Fitzsimmons had the cake layers in the oven and were almost done with the dishes. The milk chocolate frosting was made and in the fridge, as was the homemade banana jam. Daisy had been more than happy to taste test the two items, giving them an enthusiastic thumbs up on both.

They all said their goodnights and split off for their bunks. Fitzsimmons figured it would just be easier to sleep in the same room and get up together at 6:30. May and Daisy wondered what was easier about that, but made no comments.

————————————————————————

The next morning, Coulson was met with his whole team in the kitchen at 7:30. He grinned walking in. There were patriotic balloons, streamers, and various decorations everywhere. On the table was a plastic carton of blueberry muffins. His favorite.

“Happy birthday AC!” Daisy yelled, throwing her arms around Coulson. He laughed and hugged her back.

“Thank you, Dais. I’m sure I have you to thank for these wonderful decorations?”

She grinned and nodded enthusiastically. He didn’t know who was more excited about his birthday, him or her.

His eyes drifted over to the counter, where there was a perfectly level cake sitting, covered in chocolate frosting. He smiled.

“And I think I have you two to thank for the cake?” He directed to Fitzsimmons. They nodded shyly.

He smiled as he peeled back the wrapper to his muffin and took a bite. This was for sure going to be a birthday to remember.

————————————————————————

He did have some work to do, because to the rest of the world it was just a regular Tuesday. Lunch time came and went and everyone seemed pretty settled into their normal routines. Around 5:30, May showed up in his office.

“Time to go outside, Phil. Everyone’s waiting.” 

He didn’t know what that meant, but was excited nonetheless. Leave it to May to give him cryptic clues on his own birthday.

When we went outside, he was surprised to see Bobbi flipping burgers on the grill and Hunter assembling them next to her. He had completely forgotten that the base had a small grill and barbecue area outside. To his knowledge, no one ever used it.

“What do you think? It was May’s idea. I didn’t even know this was out here,” Daisy babbled. Coulson grinned. Man, was she excited.

“It’s perfect,” he agreed with her. Hunter slid him a plate with a burger on it and Coulson happily scarfed it down.

“Y’know, when I was a kid, my parents would take me to this amazing diner and we would get burgers for dinner,” Coulson reminisced to no one in particular. He had a feeling that it wasn’t a coincidence that he was having burgers again.

“We know! May told us,” Daisy piped in.

“We know it can’t possibly be the same, sir” Fitz added.

“But we do hope it at least brings back some fond memories,” Jemma finished.

(It was uncanny how those two could just talk like one person, Coulson thought.)

He threw May a thankful look. “This does bring up many fond memories, thank you. All of you. I don’t suppose you made a banana cream pie?” He joked.

Jemma turned bright red and he realized his mistake. “Oh, no, Simmons, I’m joking.”

Oh. She blew out a breath.

“She did put banana filling in the cake, though,” May said. Coulson’s eyes got wide. He had never been more excited for cake before in his life.

————————————————————————

Finally the time came for dessert. Daisy distributed the party hats, proudly wearing hers. Coulson happily took one and gave Nay a goofy grin. She rolled her eyes and left her hat on the table.

Bobbi dimmed the lights as Jemma carried the cake in, alight with candles. They all sung, then Coulson blew out the candles. He was so excited for this thing.

His eyes bulged when Jemma cut into the cake and May raised her eyebrows.

Daisy didn’t contain herself as well. “Damn Simmons, how did you do that?”

The cake was beyond perfect inside. The layers were level and bot rounded in the slightest. It could have been store bought. The banana jam was the perfect consistency and wasn’t leaking out of the middle layer.

She blushed at the praise. “Well, Fitz made the frosting,” she said.

Fitz shook his head. “Baking’s her thing. I dunno how she does that.”

Jemma began distributing slices in the paper plates and Bobbi handed out the napkins. It took Coulson a minute before he realized what was on his plate and napkin. He burst out laughing.

“Do you like it?” Daisy asked anxiously.

His face was red from laughing so hard. He tried to calm down enough to answer her.

“Yes Daisy, I love it. A personal touch.”

The cake was just as good as it looked. Coulson had three slices in all, deciding it was okay to go a little crazy on his birthday. Jemma had gotten extra banana filling out of the fridge which he scooped onto his slices.

They brought him over some gifts. Twizzlers, some gag Captain America stuff, a new tie, and a new hand from Fitz. That was a shocker to open.

He had had a wonderful day and his one true birthday wish had come true. He had gotten to spend the day with a wonderful group of people who all cared about him and had eaten some amazing food, too. He was more than happy as he lay down his head that night. This was certainly not his childhood birthday, but it was just as good in a different way. He couldn’t help but think of how lucky he was to have such an amazing team.


	3. Fitz

Fitz’s mother had always done her best for his birthdays. Even before his father had abandoned them, he had never really celebrated birthdays. He was always at work, insisting that birthdays were not a big deal and that his mother should not humor him. Nevertheless, they celebrated.

She always took him to the bakery in town to pick out his cake. He had always loved Victoria sandwich cakes. After they deposited it at home, they would go for a mother-son picnic at the local parts. She would pack them sandwiches and homemade crisps and sit on the grass on a red and white checkered blanket. They had a fun day talking and watching the ducks. At the end of lunch, they would give extra bits of bread his mum packed to the ducks. They always bonded over watching the ducks fight each other for bread. Sometimes, fish would join in, too. One year, turtles had been at the pond. That was a memorable year.

Then they would go home and eat a homemade dinner from her. She would make a roast (no veggies, she allowed, just for his birthday) just for the two of them. They ate until they were stuffed before he opened his gifts. They were usually small and practical gifts, with a few fun ones thrown in there. Then, she would sing him happy birthday and cut the cake. They would end the day watching movies, curled up on the couch together. He hadn’t gotten to go home to do any of that since he began on Coulson’s team.

————————————————————————

Jemma, of course, had Fitz’s birthday programmed into her computer’s calendar. She had began to prep weeks in advance, looking up recipes and even flights for his mum. She had figured that as they got closer to the date, she would talk to Coulson about settling down in one place for a few days.

One day, Jemma was typing away in the kitchen, experimenting with different frosting recipes on a small scale when Daisy walked in.

“Try this,” Jemma said distractedly, thrusting a mug of white frosting into Daisy’s hands.

Daisy just looked at her, then down at the mug.

“What is it?”

“Frosting. Well, potentially. I mean, I have so many to go so this may not be the one...”

As Jemma rambled on, Daisy just stared at her. What did that even mean? That it was only potentially frosting? Daisy took a moment to debate if she really cared. She was hungry, after all. She decided she didn’t.

She took a scoop of the frosting with the spoon in the mug and tried it. The frosting (indeed, it was) was smooth, sweet, and creamy. It was delicious.

“Jemma, did you make this?” Daisy asked incredulously. “It’s amazing. It’s sweet and, and smooth and, uh, everything a frosting should be.”

Jemma poured slightly at her answer. “Is it too sweet, though?”

Daisy just stared at her again. “Is it too sweet?” She repeated.

Jemma nodded. She seemed flustered and used the same spoon Daisy and to try the frosting. Jemma let out a tut and shook her head.

“There’s too much powdered sugar, I believe. Why can’t frosting recipes just be good? It’s not chemistry if it’s not baked. I don’t think it’s good enough! I can’t make it right,” Jemma conceded, flopping back into her chair at the table.

Daisy tried not to smile. “What’s going on, Jemma? Why are you even making frosting? And how can a frosting be too sweet?”

Jemma ran a hand over her hair. “It’s for Fitz’s birthday next week. His mum always made him a Victorian sandwich with vanilla icing and I can’t seem to get it quite right.”

“Icing? On a sandwich? Weird flex but okay. I’ll help. I can taste test as many batches as you need!” Daisy said with a beam.

Jemma shook her head. “Victorian sandwich is a light sponge cake not commonly made here in the states. Or,” Jemma sighed, “wherever we are.”

Jemma seemed down and Daisy didn’t know how to help with that. Instead, she changed the subject.

“So Fitz’s birthday is coming up, huh? How can we help?”

Jemma groaned a bit and Daisy realized she probably shouldn’t have asked as Jemma lowered her face into her hands.

“I don’t know the recipe for his mum’s roast and she said she never wrote it down and claims it’s more of a ‘feel your way’ recipe but I can’t feel my way! That’s why I bake! It’s an exact science! And I just want him to have a nice day so I cannot mess this up,” she finished with a huff.

Daisy smiled. Jemma was really worried about this, unnecessarily so.

“Jemma, for one, you’re not alone. You know Bobbi and Hunter can cook,” more softly, she added, “and you know he’ll love whatever you make for him.”

Jemma gave her an appreciative look. “You’re right, Daisy. He will appreciate the efforts.” She sighed, still looking concerned. “I’m trying to fly his mother in but we don’t stay in one place long enough, I believe.” She had Daisy there.

“Let’s talk to everyone else,” Daisy suggested. “Coulson might have an idea for how we can have him meet up with his mom and maybe Bobbi and Hunter have a roast recipe you can follow. Or, they could follow. And you know May will help me decorate to perfection,” she added with a goofy smile.

Jemma nodded in agreement. Daisy sent some texts and soon enough, Daisy, Jemma, Hunter, Bobbi, Coulson, and May were in Daisy’s room.

————————————————————————

“Ok gang,” Daisy began, clapping her hands together. That was met with various groans and eye rolls. “Fitz’s birthday is next Saturday and Jemma’s stressed out about, like, everything. So we’re gonna talk about it.”

They all nodded and then looked expectantly at Jemma.

“Well,” she began. “I can make the cake but am having troubles with the frosting. And I don’t know how to make his mother’s roast.”

“Have you tried calling her?” Bobbi asked.

Jemma nodded. “She said it’s not a recipe and you have to feel your way through making it. I can’t do that!”

Silence for a moment, then “I can.”

Everyone looked over to May in surprise, who just shrugged. “You’re gonna have to tell me the spices, but my mom always made free hand recipes when I was growing up.”

Jemma blew out a breath. “Thank you, May. That would be wonderful.”

“And I can make the frosting,” Hunter added. “I ate enough Victorian sandwiches growing up to know how it should be.” None of them could argue with him, so they all just nodded.

Jemma took a moment to collect her courage before looking to Coulson. “Sir,” she bit her lip, averting her eyes, “I was wondering if we could stay in one place long enough that Leo could visit with his mum for a little while.”

Jemma didn’t expect him to say yes. She was beyond surprised when he simply said probably. Her head snapped up.

“She lives in Perth, right? I don’t see why we couldn’t stop there for a few days,” he answered with an easy shrug.

Jemma’s eyes widened. “That would be wonderful, sir.”

He simply smiled back at her. “Glad to help.”

Jemma talked for the rest of their time there, hoping Fitz wasn’t too suspicious being alone in the lab. She told them about his picnics and going to the lake. Once she had painted them all a pretty good picture of what his birthdays had been like, they all agreed that Ms. Fitz was an integral part of the day.

“I’m excited to meet missus Fitz,” Daisy said with a grin. “I’m so asking for pictures of little Fitz.”

————————————————————————

Jemma and Coulson had talked in his office the next day to set up details for his mother’s visit. He figured it would be easier for them to fly to Perth and see her than have her fly somewhere. They had to fly anyway. Might as well go to her.

They agreed to pick her up in a small town about an hour outside of Perth. It was a low population area with no known Hydra bases, or SHIELD for that matter, anywhere near it. She would join them on the ship for breakfast before she took them all to a picnic. That is, if she was alright with everyone coming to her and her son’s birthday picnic. Jemma was nervous to call her and just stared at her phone while standing in the hallway.

Coulson put a hand on her shoulder as he left his office sympathetically. “Don’t be nervous. In-laws can be intimidating, but they usually like you more than they let on.”

Jemma furrowed her eyebrows and frowned at him. “Linda is not my mother in-law, sir.”

Coulson smiled at her as he walked away. “Not yet.”

Jemma shook her head as she finally hit Linda Fitz’s contact. The phone rang three times before she answered.

“Jemma dear!” She began excitedly. “I’m so glad to be hearin’ from ya. Are ya eatin’ enough? How’s my Leo?”

Jemma smiled and all her nerves dropped. She had always loved Linda.

“I’m very well, thank you, Linda. So is Leo. How are you doing?”

“Quite well on this fine day, dear. But that’s not why ya called, I’m sure.”

“No, um, it isn’t,” Jemma said, feeling bad, “although I’m very glad to hear you are doing alright.”

Linda smiled to herself. Jemma had always been soft spoken. “What’s on your mind dear?”

Jemma launched into telling her about her plan for Fitz’s birthday, complete with her baking his cake and the rest of the team pitching in to cook. The more Jemma spoke, the more she worried.

“I do hope I haven’t offended you, Linda. I do know how fond he is of your cooking, but quite honestly, I didn’t think I would get approval to visit you, much less bring you aboard.”

Linda was quiet for a few moments and Jemma began to redden.

“Of course I’m not offended, Jemma. I’m very touched ya care so deeply for me Leo. I’d love to meet all his work friends for our picnic. And I don’t mind a bit not havin’ to do the cookin’ for once in me life.”

Jemma blew out a relieved breath. “I’m so glad to hear you say that Mrs. Fitz,” Jemma said.

“How many times must I tell ya, it’s Linda deary! Now is this here a surprise party?”

Jemma nodded and they talked some more about the details of the day. After they finished talking about the day, they caught up a bit about their own personal lives. Jemma was over the moon to hear Linda had gotten a dog, which had quickly befriended her cat. She insisted she give Jemma the world’s longest hug after hearing the girl had spent six months on an alien planet alone. Jemma had tried not to mention it, but it was half a year. It was hard to leave out.

The two said their goodbyes and Jemma promised she would text coordinates when she could. Linda let her know one more time how excited she was for the day and how happy she had been to hear from Jemma before hanging up.

Jemma smiled at herself as she sent a text out to the group. On for Mrs. Fitz. This was going to be a very interesting day.

————————————————————————

The next week slid by and Jemma kept the secret like her life depended on it. Jemma knew it would have been weird if she didn’t at least bring up his birthday, so she suggested they go for dinner and drinks that night, which he was more than happy with. Everyone else quietly prepared. Jemma had given May a shopping list, who went to the store with Daisy for ingredients and decorations. (Daisy insisted on buying every single item with a monkey on it, even if it did all come from the toddlers’ section.)

Jemma made the cake and put it in the fridge two days before his birthday because Hunter refused to get up early to frost it. He said he would stay up late and do it instead.

Linda had texted Jemma and asked to talk to whoever was making the roast, so it was quite the scene at one in the morning on Fitz’s birthday. May had Linda on speakerphone on the counter next to her as she put together the spice rub.

“You’ve got to make sure there’s no chunks, May. No one wants ta bite into a pocket a paprika, ya know,” Linda lectured.

Jemma was pretty sure she saw May roll her eyes at that.

Jemma made her way to Fitz’s room when she couldn’t control her laughter anymore. She wanted to keep him up extra late so he would sleep in the next morning and give his mother plenty of time to meet up with the team.

She knocked gently on his door and made her way inside. She smiled at him.

“Want to watch a movie? I can’t fall asleep,” she asked.

It looked like Fitz had been very near sleep himself, but he would do anything for Jemma. “Sure, Jem. Pick whatever you like. Are we still on for,” he rolled over and looked at his clock. 0031. “Tonight?” He asked with a hopeful look in his eye.

She kissed his cheek. “We are indeed. Happy birthday, Leo.”

————————————————————————

The next morning, Fitz woke up to the smell of French toast. Probably Coulson’s, he thought, for his birthday. That’s right. It was his birthday. He took a moment to take in his surroundings. His clock read 0805. It was late for him. Jemma had already slipped out of his room (she was the early riser of the two). His laptop was closed and on his nightstand, as well as a sticky note Jemma had obviously written, wishing him a happy birthday.

Fitz yawned and rolled over. He was tired, but so excited for dinner with Jemma. He got dressed and cleaned up before heading down to the kitchen.

————————————————————————

Linda showed up at the coordinates Jemma had texted her at 0630. She pulled into the empty parking lot, which affronted a large, empty field. She didn’t know a lot about what her son did for a living, but knew there was often more than one could see when SHIELD was involved. Seemingly out of nowhere, a man in a suit showed up from the field.

“You must be Linda,” he said to her warmly. “My name is Phil Coulson. I work with your son.” He held out his hand.

She completely disregarded his hand and went in for a hug. “Oh, Phil! Leo has told me so much about you! I’m so sorry you died a while back, but yer here now, right?” She laughter heartily at her own joke as Coulson recovered from the surprise of her hug.

“I suppose I am. Everyone’s so excited to meet you,” Coulson said leading her into the field. Her eyebrows rose and her eyes bugged out when the hangar of a plane appeared out of nowhere. Right. The plane was invisible. Of course her Leo had figured that out. But she said nothing as she followed Coulson inside.

Bobbi, Hunter, Daisy, and May were all waiting in the kitchen for them. Daisy beamed when they walked in. She jumped up from her seat.

“You must be Mrs. Fitz. I’m Daisy. Listen, your kid is a super genius.”

Linda pulled Daisy into a hug, which made Daisy giggle but smile a little wider as she hugged the woman back.

“Just call me Linda. Mrs. Fitz was me mum.” She turned to address the whole group. “Now that goes for all a ya.” She winked at them.

Bobbi found herself smirking at the woman. She was not what she had expected Fitz’s mom to be like. Sure, they looked fairly similar. Her hair was curly just like his was and they had similar facial structures. But she was a lot more social than he was. She wondered if he got that side from his father.

“Nice to meet you, love,” Hunter stood up, not bothering to put out his hand. “Lance Hunter.” He went in for the hug at the same time as her, which made Bobbi roll her eyes affectionately.

She then turned to Bobbi. “And you dear, you must be Bobbi?”

Bobbi nodded and smiled. She had no idea Fitz’s mom would know all their names. She practically pulled Bobbi up out of her seat for a hug, which made Hunter laugh loudly. “Nice to meet ya, sweetheart.”

She tilted her head to Hunter, who was grabbing a beer from the fridge. “Hard bein’ married to a Brit, innit?” She asked Bobbi who smirked and nodded.

Fitz’s mom took the beer right out of Hunter’s hand and put it back in the fridge. His mouth opened and closed and everyone else’s eyes bulged.

“Dear lord, Lance, it’s not even seven yet. What have ya to be drinkin’ about already?”

Hunter just stared at her open mouthed while it was Bobbi’s turn to laugh loudly. So did Daisy.

They heard a small gasp and all turned towards the doorway. Jemma was standing there with a small smile on her face.

“Hello Linda,” she said quietly, a blush spreading over her fair cheeks.

“Why, Jemma Simmons, in the flesh. So nice to see you dear!” Linda said as she swept Jemma into a tight hug. Jemma held her just as tightly. 

“It’s been too long dear,” Linda said quietly. Jemma nodded in agreement. Everyone else smiled at the sweet moment. These two were obviously closer than it had originally appeared.

They spent the next hour getting to know Linda while Coulson started in breakfast. Jemma made herself Linda tea while Bobbi put on a pot of coffee for everyone else.

————————————————————————

Fitz stopped dead in the hallway on his way to the kitchen. Who was that other voice? It couldn’t be. He practically ran the rest of the way to the kitchen and skidded to a stop in the doorway.

The chatter abruptly ended as everyone looked up at Fitz, grinning. There was a moment of silence.

“Mum?” He breathed.

“Why, Leo, happy birthday,” she responded warmly and they met in a warm embrace. Daisy cheered.

“Mum, what, h-how, are you...you’re here,” he finally stopped at.

“Jemma called me,” she said, squeezing his forearms. “She told me that I could see ya for her birthday this year as long as Phil approved it.”

He turned his head to Jemma and let out a breath. “Thank you.” Then he pulled his mom back in for a hug, not caring the rest of the team was watching. Even May smiled. None of them got enough time with their families. It was so nice to see.

Soon enough, they were all chowing down on French toast. Fitz caught up with his mom while she told stories about him.

Bobbi and Hunter did the dishes while the rest of the team prepared for the picnic. Linda had brought four picnic blankets with her, which she hoped would be enough for everyone. By eleven, they were headed off to a local lake.

Linda had made prosciutto and Buffalo mozzarella sandwiches for herself, Leo, and Jemma. The rest of the team had sandwiches made mostly of cold cuts, but they all enjoyed Linda’s homemade potato chips.

“These are delicious, Linda,” Daisy commented as she took another handful.

“Thank you, Daisy,” Linda commented. “I’ll make you a batch when I see you again.”

Daisy’s eyebrows shot up. “A whole batch? For me?” She asked incredulously. No one had ever made her something before, much less something that was only for her.

“Of course,” Linda commented. “They’re easy enough ta make, ya know.”

Daisy smiled at the idea. Linda was such a mom.

The weather was beautiful, if not hot. They were mostly covered by trees, though, which shaded them from the mid August rays. They talked about life in Scotland and what it had been like growing up. It wasn’t lost on any of them that she didn’t bring up Fitz’s father. They talked about living in the countryside and all the farmers growing up. How their milk came from Mr. Cunningham down the street as well as their eggs.

“Leo used to love visiting the lambs during birthing season,” Linda shared merrily. Leo let out an exasperated sigh as Jemma giggled and leaned further into his side.

“One year, this little lamb followed him ‘round the whole season. Little thing was so disappointed to see em go back to school.”

“Do you have any pictures?” Daisy asked.

Linda gasped and dug through her purse. “Oh yes, of course I do. Can you dig out my phone, dear?” She asked passing her purse to Bobbi, who nodded.

She passed her phone around their little circle, all of them giggling and cooing at the pictures of little Fitz.

“Jemma, dear, please send some of those to yourself. They’ll be great at your wedding.”

Jemma coughed, choking on her sandwich. Fitz turned bright red.

“Mum,” he groaned. “You know we’re best friends. That’s it.”

“Sure.” She winked.

“Who else here thinks these two will get married one day,” Linda asked, throwing up her hand. Daisy shot up hers with a goofy grin. More hesitantly, Bobbi’s hand followed. Then went Hunter. Coulson put his hand up grinning at Fitz and Jemma, who was recovering and trying to catch her breath. Even May out her hand up. She looked far too amused.

Fitz and Jemma looked at each other then down at the picnic blanket, both blushing furiously.

“It’s gonna happen, you two. Can’t wait to say yer me daughter, Jemma. And you know her parents wish it just as much as I. We talk, ya know.”

Daisy gasped. “Linda, can I please have your email address? I wanna get in on this.”

————————————————————————

When they got back, May took the roast out of the oven. They all went off to shower and clean up for dinner, leaving Fitz alone with his mom. Until she insisted Jemma stay, too.

“I really am glad to be here. I’m so glad ya boss allowed me to be ‘ere. Ya got a nice little group. All very nice people.”

“I’m sorry we haven’t done this before mum,” Fitz said. “I didn’t even know this was an option.”

She smiled at him. “I know that Leo. I know the work you all do is important, saving lives an’ all.”

She turned her attention to Jemma. “I am so glad ya called me, dear. An’ I didn’t mean ta push earlier. You two go at yer own pace. I’ll be waitin’.”

Jemma nodded. “Of course Linda. I do so appreciate having you here. It’s always lovely to see you.”

Linda gave them a knowing smile. “Lovely to see ya too, Jemma. Now, I believe I have a roast to help prepare.”

————————————————————————

The roast was delicious, of course. Linda helped garnish it after it came out of the oven. She served it up at the table, all eight of them around it. She cut off a bite for herself first and let out a loud moan.

“Delicious, May. You’ve done a wonderful job.”

Linda pulled May into a hug. Everyone’s jaws practically dropped. Coulson had never been more amused looking at May’s face. It took her a minute, but she did relax and hug back Linda.

Dinner went off without a hitch. Everyone loved the roast and even had seconds, some thirds. It was just as good as Fitz remembered. He hadn’t had it in years. It didn’t taste exactly the same. He knew May had made it, but also, nothing ever tasted as one remembers.

“Y’know, May is a sharp one,” Linda said. “She follow’d me directions perfectly over the phone. That’s a hard feat ta do, let me tell ya.”

Fitz’s eyebrows rose and he turned to May. He didn’t quite know what to say. “Thank you,” was all he got out.

May smiled back, a real smile. “Happy birthday Fitz.”

————————————————————————

Finally it was time for dessert. Monkey decorations were absolutely everywhere. The cake looked store bought once again. Hunter had made the frosting and Jemma had piped it on. She put the candles on as May turned the lights off. After they were lit, they all sung and Fitz blew out the candles.

His mom slapped him on the back. “I hope ya get what ya wish for, Leo. It’s been awhile since I got ta see ya do that.”

He smiled. It had been a very long time indeed.

They sliced up the cake and distributed it on the monkey-themed plates. Daisy poked the cake with her fork. It wasn’t like any cake she’d ever seen.

“What is this again?” Daisy asked. “It looks delicious, just, what’s it called?”

“Victorian sandwich,” Jemma answered.

“And a perfect one at that,” Linda praised. “The cake is perfect and the frosting well done. Beautiful. I’m assuming we have you to thank, Jemma dear?”

Jemma blushed. “Hunter made the frosting.”

“But Jemma made the cake and frosted it,” Coulson added. Jemma blushed and looked down at her plate.

“Wonderful job, dear! Easily the best homemade Victorian sandwich I’ve ever had.”

“Tastes just like the bakery’s,” Fitz said quietly to Jemma, a gleaming look in his eyes. She was so glad she could bring him some memories for his birthday.

(He wouldn’t say it aloud, but the cake was bringing back memories for Hunter, too.)

————————————————————————

After cake, it was time for gifts. His mom had a small bag that they would open in private. He opened the gifts from the team. New tools, a board, a new lab coat, a new laptop case with a diagram of the anatomy of a chimpanzee on it.

“Glad to see ya still like monkeys, Leo. It’s a good interest, ya know? One that can grow with ya, unlike that boy at your school. Trevor? Thomas? Oh, well, him and his trains. He was a very dull child.”

Fitz reddened as they all laughed at his mom’s story.

“Tomas wasn’t dumb, mum. You can’t compare all types of intelligence.”

She sighed. “Maybe dear, but that child wasn’t bright in any type.”

————————————————————————

The team said their goodnights and Fitz said goodbye to his mom. Coulson agreed that there was no reason they couldn’t do this again. She and Fitz embraced tightly for a few moments before she followed Coulson out of the quinjet.

Fitz watched them walk down the cargo ramp and then turned to go to his room, but then he passed Jemma’s. He knocked and heard her call.

He opened the door and went and sat next to her on your bed. All was quiet for a moment.

“So it wasn’t exactly dinner and drinks,” Jemma began, “but I hope you had a nice birthday, Leo. You deserve it.”

He stared at her. “Nice? Jemma, that was probably the best birthday I’ve ever had. Seeing mum was just about the best surprise gift ya could’ve given me. The picnic, the cake, the roast, it was all absolutely wonderful. I’ve had the best day. Thank you,” he finished simply.

“Of course, Leo. I’d do anything for you.”

They spent a moment looking at each other before they leaned in and shared a quick peck on the lips. They had yet to tell the team they were dating, but they knew everyone would find out eventually.

He did need some rest, though, so he did need to sleep in his own room. He went over to the door and out into the hallway. Right before he closed the door, Jemma had one last word.

“Happy birthday, Leopold.”

He smiled.

“Thank you, Jemma.”

He couldn’t remember the last time he went to bed feeling this happy and loved. Forget just birthdays. That may have been the best day of his life.


	4. Hunter

Hunter's childhood had been average. He had been a rebellious kid with a drunk father. He wasn't usually a violent drunk, just loud and obnoxious. Birthdays were always a reason to drink for him. So, for his birthday. He would usually slip him a beer. Lance and his mom would get takeout and have some cake while his dad fell asleep in front of the tv. It wasn't the best day ever to him, but he had loved spending time with him mom. Now she was in a nursing home in northern England. Joining SHIELD hadn't really changed his plans. He imitated his father, drinking heavily and eating cake on his birthday, usually alone. Most people didn't know his birthday and he didn't mind one bit.

————————————————————————

Bobbi came into the lab five days before Hunter's birthday, grinning. "Hey guys. Hunter's birthday is next week and we have to make it awesome."

Jemma and Fitz smiled. They had come to like being the baking pair for everyone's birthday. "What type of cake?" Fitz asked simply and Bobbi shrugged.

"I don't know. I haven't spent his birthday with him in England before. I doubt chocolate cake is his favorite."

Jemma and Fitz agreed with her on that. "How about a Battenberg cake?" Jemma asked and Bobbi shrugged again. "I've never heard of it but he'LK probably love it. I don't think you can make a bad cake and apparently Fitz can frost anything."

Fitz smiled at the compliment. Maybe he couldn't bake that well, but he was a master frosted. That's why him and Jemma made such a good pair.

"It's next Thursday and I don't know if he remembers I know when his birthday is," Bobbi continued. "Usually he spends the night alone, drinking beer and eating an entire cake. One time we had birthday sex." Fitz protested loudly at that.

"But he won't be alone this year," Jemma assured her. "He has you, who clearly cares deeply for him. And us. I'm sure Daisy will be very excited to pick out decorations."

Bobbi agreed there. She headed down to the gym to let Daisy know the news.

————————————————————————

Bobbi found May and Daisy sparring in the gym. Daisy was bright red and soaking wet while May had barely broken a sweat.

"Can I interrupt?" Bobbi asked from her place in the doorway.

Daisy groaned loudly as she went for her water. "Please." May shot both of them unapproving looks as she went for her own water.

"Hunter's birthday is on Thursday. Jemma and Fitz are gonna do the cake. Daisy, I figured you'd want decorations?" She nodded emphatically.

"How many beer decorations do you think I can find at Stop and Shop? Maybe I should look on Amazon."

May rolled her eyes. "They can't ship here Daisy. We don't exist."

Daisy deflated a bit. "Oh yeah. I forgot."

Bobbi chuckled. "I don't know what to do for dinner. He doesn't eat real food. I feel like all he eats is pizza and burgers and I've known the guy for years."

May spoke up. "So you make pizza or burgers. It's what he likes."

That shut Bobbi up. "But I feel like that's not special enough."

"We could home make it," Daisy exclaimed. "Pizza night! Woooooo!"

May rolled her eyes. Hard. Pizza wasn't really her thing. She hadn't tried it until she had went to the SHIELD academy. It was fine, but she would so much rather have traditional Chinese food. Or a sandwich. Or a roast.

But maybe a homemade pizza night would be a fun bonding activity. It would be even more fun if Hunter wasn't completely wasted while doing it. That would be hard to achieve, but if anyone could keep him sober, it was Bobbi.

They met in Daisy's bunk that night. Hunter was in Bobbi's waiting for her, so they couldn't convene there. May brought Coulson with her so they could clue him in. He hadn't known Hunter's birthday was that Thursday, either. He really needed to start reading their files.

"So, anyone know how to make homemade pizza dough or should we just buy it from the store?" Bobbi asked the group.

"Well, I used to make bread dough all the time with my mum. Is it very different?"Jemma asked, looking around.

Coulson shook his head. "I've made it once or twice. It's a heck of a lot easier than bread dough, Simmons."

She blew out a breath. "No problem, then. Shall I make it two days in advance so it can prove?"

"Prove?" Daisy asked.

"Give them time to puff up," Fitz translated.

Oh. Well that did sound important.

"We can go to the grocery store tomorrow to get active yeast and whatever else we need," May said.

"What type of beer does he drink?" Daisy asked. She realized she had never actually noticed.

Bobbi sighed. "I don't think it matters."

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May, Bobbi, and Daisy went to the grocery store the next day. It was hard to get Bobbi away from the base without a good reason when Hunter asked, so she said she wanted a girls day out for lunch. Jemma claimed she had too much work to get done in the lab. Hunter may or may not have believed her, but he didn't care enough to push. It's not like the two of them spent every waking moment together, but it was weird if her to just leave him without any real explanation. But she did promise to pick him up beer, so he didn't object.

They ended up calling Jemma from the store because there were too many types of yeast. Jemma told them to buy a dry, active one. The three women scoured the shelves until they finally found a small packet with those two words on them. Even May didn't know how much to get after reading the back of the packaging, so they got enough for one per pizza, which was five dough packets. (When they got back to the base, Jemma had a good laugh over the abundance of yeast they now had.)

May bought the more typical groceries for the base while Daisy and Bobbi got birthday stuff. Bobbi got four cases of beer. One was for Hunter when they got back, one to wrap up, and two for the day of. Daisy got some string LED lights that she wanted to put in empty beer bottles to decorate with. She didn't find any beer themed decorations, but she did find a string of little UK flags. She grinned and got three, to which May rolled her eyes heavily.

They got Hunter a few small gifts while they were there too. The texted Jemma and asked about English snacks and goods they could get him. She FaceTimed them again and was very patient as they walked the foreign foods aisle, looking for what she had said. Eventually, they realized it would be a lot quicker if they turned Jemma around so she could see the shelves. They got a few different things: biscuits, tea, and some other goods.

Once the cart started to overflow, they checked out and left the store. The cashier had made a joke about the three of them needing so much beer for a party.

"Can't you tell?" May said, straight faced and seemingly a little bit angry, "we're raging alcoholics, jackass." The man was taken aback and bagged the rest of their items in silence.

After their were outside, Bobbi and Daisy finally burst into laughter. "That was awesome! That guy looked terrified," Daisy recounted as Bobbi continued to joke with her. May smirked to herself. She wasn't a robot, after all.

————————————————————————

Hunter helped them unload the groceries when they got back to the base, Daisy and May making sure to take all the ones with decorations and gifts to Daisy's room. No one really knew what he did all day at the base other than drink. No one had ever seen him in the gym, but he had to be working out somewhere. Sometimes, he was in the kitchen. But he had never done paperwork before. He didn't know how to use any of the lab equipment, so what exactly did he do all day? No one had ever asked him. But it was helpful in moments like these where he could bring in the groceries.

They sat down and ate lunch as a group after that. Jemma made tea for Fitz and herself while Hunter opted for (you guessed it!) a beer. Bobbi made herself and Hunter sandwiches as everyone sat down with their meals. They talked about their plans for the upcoming weeks and potential new leads on the latest big and bad. No one seemed to have any.

That night, Bobbi told Jemma that she could cover for her in the lab the next day. Coulson and May both okayed it. For everyone's birthdays, Jemma and Fitz worked in the cover of darkness. Jemma wanted to do the same for the dough, but it was hard to stay up later than Hunter sometimes. That led to Jemma starting her dough at 3am on Tuesday.

May and Daisy were the first ones in the kitchen the next morning. They could tell that Jemma had probably just left from the wet utensils drying next to the sink. May pulled out two yogurts and tossed one to Daisy, who was looking around.

"Where do you think she hid them? I feel like five doughs should be pretty hard to hide," Daisy said aloud and May had to agree with her. They half-heartedly scoured the kitchen before going off to shower.

They asked Jemma when she came into the lab at 10am. Bobbi and Fitz gave her sympathetic looks.

"How late did you have to stay up?" Bobbi asked.

Jemma shook her head. "Oh, it wasn't bad. I was working just around 3am."

"Oh. Well, good then," Bobbi said. 3am wasn't terrible.

"Wait," Fitz said. "You finished the dough at 3am or he went to bed at 3am?"

Bobbi's stomach flipped. She hadn't thought of that. Jemma bit her lip.

"He went to bed then," she conceded and Bobbi rose her eyebrows.

"So when did you get to sleep?" Bobbi asked her.

"Oh, a little after 6, then?"

A silence fell over the trio for a moment.

"You can't have gotten more than four hours of sleep, Jems," Fitz said.

Bobbi nodded. "Go back to bed, Jemma. I said I'd cover for you. I meant the whole day if need be."

Jemma blew out a breath. "Do you mind? I am exhausted. I don't know what's happened to me. I used to do this so often at the academy."

Bobbi knew the feeling. So did Fitz. "Yes, I promise, go get some sleep. You're planning on doing this again for the cake, aren't you?" Bobbi asked her. She nodded.

Just as Jemma turned to leave, Daisy skidded into the room.

"Jemma! I have a question. But it's not super important if you're in the middle of something."

Jemma smiled at her friend's enthusiasm. "I was actually about to go back to bed. Ask away."

"Okay, so I know that you said the dough needed to proof but May and I checked like the entire kitchen and we can't find it. How the hell did you hide five bowls of pizza dough?"

Jemma gave her a funny look. "It's all in the proofing drawer, Daisy."

"The what?" Daisy asked. Bobbi was confused too.

Jemma smiled. "Come. I'll show you."

It turned out that the drawer under the oven was actually a proofing drawer. Coulson hadn't known either. He was in the kitchen when the girls came in.

"So you're telling me you're hiding the pizza dough under the oven?" Coulson asked. "What makes you think he won't check there?"

"Well sir, I do hope he won't be checking for anything," Jemma began. "And I'm banking on the idea that he also has no idea what a proofing drawer is." She had him there.

————————————————————————

The days went by and no one suspected anything. Bobbi managed to lure Hunter to bed by 11 on Wednesday so Fitzsimmons could make the cake and not be completely exhausted the next day. The plan went off without a hitch, thanks to Bobbi.

They managed to make and frost the cake all by 3:30, so they were able to get in almost six hours of sleep. Hunter was known for being one of the later sleepers on the team and Bobbi could easily get him to stay in bed for longer. By 9am, Hunter and Bobbi were dressed and headed to the kitchen.

Coulson was flipping pancakes on a tabletop griddle and smiled at them as they walked in. "Happy birthday, Lance."

He turned to Bobbi. "You did this."

She smirked at his bewilderment. "I did."

He was met with a chorus of 'happy birthday' from the rest of the team, who were already seated at the table, beverages in hand. He quietly slipped into his chair as Bobbi put a plate of pancakes down in front of him.

They were delicious. Hunter couldn't remember the last time someone had made him a homemade breakfast for his birthday. Even his mother hadn't done that. He was beyond touched, not that he planned to tell anyone that.

Him and Bobbi snuggled up and watched a movie after the late breakfast while the rest of the team did their work. (Whatever Hunter was supposed to be doing for SHIELD was either already done, or like many of them suspected, did not exist.)

Him and Bobbi ate lunch with Daisy and May. They had received a sample that Fitzsimmons was analyzing while Coulson was trying to get more information on its origin from outside sources.

That was all done by dinner time. While Hunter popped open a beer, Jemma took the doughs out of the proofing drawer. Daisy's jaw dropped and May's eyes widened. They were huge, each one taking up almost the full bowl.

She set them on the counter and looked around. "How shall we do this?"

Jemma and Fitz shared a pizza, as did May and Coulson. Everyone else got their own. May put out two jars of sauce as well as various meats, cheeses, and vegetables as toppings. Hunter was excited to make his own pizza for dinner. He thought it was a splendid idea. He had a feeling Bobbi had something to do with this, too.

The pizza was wonderful. They were all cooked in the oven, so they weren't exactly authentic, but they were delicious nonetheless. Hunter ate his entire pizza.

Bobbi raised an eyebrow at him. "I take it it was good then?"

He nodded. "Best meal I've had in a long time. You can really tell the difference between store bought and homemade dough. It was wonderful. Truly," he urged.

He loved the Battenberg cake, too. Claimed it reminded him of a local bakery near his house, where they had gotten his graduation cake from. He also made sure to comment on the British decorations for Daisy's sake and told her that the beer bottle lights were creative.

"I think I might keep these in me room, give it a bit of color. What do you think love?" He asked Bobbi, who rolled her eyes.

"Beer bottles aren't decorations, Lance, but at least these ones double as a sourse of light."

He was excited with his gifts. He hadn't seen most of the items in years and they brought back many memories for him. His mother always had their cabinets stocked with chocolate biscuits growing up. He probably had Jemma to thank for the British food. He was glad to have a touch of home on the base. He missed living in London more than he let on.

The night ended and everyone parted ways for their rooms. Hunter came out of the shower and saw Bobbi reading on her side of the bed. She smiled when he came out.

"Have a good birthday?" She inquired and he sighed.

"Best one in a very, very long time love," he told her honestly as he slipped under the covers next to her. "I'm so glad to have this team."

Bobbi smiled at that. "Me too."

Bobbi gave him one last gift that night before they fell asleep.


End file.
